Oh No You Don't!

Sydney's life as baby brother can many times be tough. Casey likes to knock Sydney over, lay on him, and take his toys.  About a week ago Sydney fought back.  Mommy is in the kitchen trying to make dinner.  Casey and Sydney are in the living room playing.  As has become all to common, mommy hears Sydney crying. Mommy looks out and determines that Casey has taken Sydney's toy.  Mommy goes out gets Casey to give the toy back and tells Casey to stop taking Sydney's toy.  Mommy goes back in the kitchen and resumes making dinner. A few minutes later mommy hears Sydney crying again then she hears Casey crying. Now that's strange Casey is crying and Sydney is grunting. Hmmm, must investigate.  Mommy comes out to find Casey trying to get away with Sydney's toy but Sydney said OH NO YOU DON'T!  and he has Casey by a handful of his hair and is pulling back so that Casey's head is tilted backwards.

On one hand Mommy wants to laugh and say "Good Job Sydney, way to defend yourself!" but on the other hand she doesn't want this to become a habit. So as she starts to walk over, she says "Sydney NO let go of Casey's hair!" He lets go for about 2 seconds then reaches again and grabs another handful and PULLS.  Mommy reaches Sydney and removes his hand from Casey's hair, which took some effort. Casey is crying but after a hug and some kisses he is okay.

So that was a week ago. Did Casey learn his lesson?  No, he still does the same thing and they battle each other all day. They do have moments when they play together and it is great to hear them giggling and playing together but right now Sydney cries more than he giggles when big brother is around.

I love my boys!!!

Trip Pix

Horseplay with Nai Nai and Ye Ye. Notice the smile...

With Nai Nai and big bro at the 'Big Zoo'

Walking in the sand

Daddy and Sydney on the swing. Notice the smile...

Sydney on the swing. Notice the smile... Yes, he absolutely smiles a lot! Like ALL THE TIME!

Sydney on the jungle gym. Playgrounds take on a whole new meaning for Sydney now that he is mobile.

Nai Nai looking out for little Sydney

Standing proud

Last Man Standing

It hit last Sunday night. Daddy was the first to go down. Food poisoning- stomach flu... I ain't a doctor, so I don't know the official name for what I got, but I can describe it for you... But I won't... Just know I had it coming out both ends and it wasn't pretty. Just before 6am Monday morning, I was throwing up in the bathroom, and Casey comes downstairs and says, "Stop making so much noise!" Ummm, sorry son, I'll try to vomit much quieter next time... Fast forward to late Monday night, when Mommy got hit. From what I understand, she had more coming out the front end as opposed to the rear end, but regardless, she definitely got hit. Then, at about 3am that morning... Casey threw up in his bed. Needless to say, that got the whole house into the kids room to comfort him. All the while, Sydney was standing straight up in his bed, looking at all of us sickos... With his familiar smile on his face...

One by one, we are all slowing recovering. And little Sydney hasn't been hit. So happy he is the last man standing, and just might make it through unscathed.

Future Raider-hater

Pix of Sydney in his Charger gear. Notice he is outside, standing on his own. This was taken during one of our "practice walks"; during his first couple of weeks walking, I am taking him outside as much as possible to let him practice walking...

Rocking the Philip Rivers Charger jersey and shades

Stroll

Last night, I took my boys on a walk to get the mail. Its not like we live out in the country, and have to walk miles to the mailbox... But, this was Sydney's first time walking to a destination. He was slow, but focused. He asked for my hand, and once I gave it to him, he held on to my finger and started out on his mission. He did great, and had a great time doing it. He was saying, "Ahblahhhblahhhahahahahablahhhh" pretty much the whole time, which loosely translates to, "Oh dude, oh dude, I'm walkin', check me out, I'm doin' it, yeah!" I think his big brother served as motivation, as Casey kept running a good distance ahead. But he kept within eyesight, and often came running back to Sydney and tickling him. At one point, he got on the other side of Sydney and offered his hand... With this support system, its no wonder Sydney had so much success!

Caddyshack

There was a famous scene in the old movie "Caddyshack" where someone drops a chocolate bar in a crowded swimming pool... and chaos ensues. My boys reenacted that scene tonight. I was attempting to give both boys a bath, at the same time. I washed Sydney and stepped back to rest and stretch out my back. Both boys were splashing and playing in the bath water. I look at Sydney, and see a stream of pee coming out. No problem, it wasn't much pee, and the volume would be well diluted by the bath. Suddenly, I see a giant candy bar... 'Cept there is no possible way it was a candy bar. There is only one thing it could have been.. I had to think fast.. Evacuate the bath! I grabbed Sydney and pulled him out. I told Casey to let go of the bath toys, and get out. These days, he doesn't do it often, but this time, he listened, immediately. Thankfully, it was a rather solid log, so I had a few precious seconds to evacuate the bath before the contamination spread. I now realize the movie depiction wasn't very life-like. See, when the real thing is exposed to water, it begins to disintegrate. Little pieces fall off, and the log generally breaks up. In addition, the water slowly begins to get a muddy, brownish tint. My immediate focus was to save my boys from the contaminated water, I did not stop to photograph or video the disaster. Sorry.

Two for One (Sydney edition)

As many of you may know, Casey and Sydney were both born on the same day... Exactly two years apart. Today we celebrated Casey's 3rd birthday and Sydney's 1st birthday. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great turnout. Friends, family, a taco caterer and a balloon artist all helped us celebrate. Props to Mommy who did a wonderful job preparing. And a special thanks to cousin Ashley who spent a week with us, helping out. Without them, the party would not have happened.

Mommy baked him a personal birthday cake. All for him to do as he pleased.

Sydney spent most of his time looking around, and soaking everything in. This was quite possibly the biggest party he has experienced to date. In viewing the photos below, it should become obvious what the highlight of Sydney's day was... CAKE!!!

Sydney with his Nanny, Rei.


Sydney laughing at his big brother trying to blow out candles.


Just getting started on his personal birthday cake.


The damage isn't too bad so far... Yet.


Wow!